


Baby Steps

by opal_sapphire



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 12:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18052313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_sapphire/pseuds/opal_sapphire
Summary: You're tired of staying behind when there's danger in Storybrooke, but your mother won't let you join the fight.





	Baby Steps

Regina Mills is an incredibly protective person. She does anything and everything she can to protect those she cares about. An honorable trait, really.

Except right now.

There was yet another threat brewing in Storybrooke, and you wanted to help. Regina, on the other hand, wanted you to stay safe.

When you were younger, this was perfectly acceptable to you. At the time you’d been too young to really help in the battlefield, and you were terrified, so you stayed home. Now, however, you were older. You were still just as terrified, but you weren’t going to let that stop you anymore. Your mother just didn’t seem to get it.

You didn’t blame her for being protective. You were her daughter, after all. She wanted to keep her baby girl safe. But you could only take so much.

“Let me help!” You said.

“It’s too dangerous, Y/N,” your mother argued.

“I’m not a little kid anymore, Mom, I can do this.”

“You’re not putting yourself in danger, and that’s it.”

“Fine!”

Frustrated, you stormed up to your room. You could do so much more than just sit around and twiddle your thumbs. The anxiety of not knowing what was going on, not being able to help, not knowing who would come home alive…it was a lot. It was too much.  
Sitting on the edge of your bed, you came to a decision. You wouldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore. No, you were going to help, whether your mom liked it or not.

Throwing yourself between your mother and a blast of magic was heroic–and kinda dumb when you considered your mortality. Of course, you hadn’t considered it until after the fact. You’d been thinking of your mom’s mortality in that moment.

The magic hadn’t really affected you that much–just thrown you backward a good couple yards. Your landing, however, definitely affected you. When you landed, your right ankle made a sharp twist, and you swore you heard something snap. That was not a sound you wanted to hear. It was also not a feeling you wanted to feel.

“Y/N!”

Fight forgotten, your mother rushed over to you. She felt your ankle, and you hissed.

“What were you thinking, Y/N? You could’ve been killed!”

“So could you!” You shot back.

“Is she alright?” Emma called.

“I’m fine!”

David and Killian took you back home. They didn’t say a word about what just happened, and neither did you. You knew you would get an earful when your mother came home, but this time you would give one back.

When she did finally come home, you were lying on the sofa with your leg propped up. An ice pack laid across your swollen ankle. 

Your mom sat on the chair across from you.

“I know,” you said. "It was dumb, I could’ve been hurt worse, I could’ve died, I should’ve just stayed home and safe.“

You glanced at her. "I don’t want to do that anymore, Mom.”

“You shouldn’t be in the line of fire,” she replied.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re my daughter, Y/N.”

“And you’re my mother! If you’re gonna go with that, then you shouldn’t be in the line of fire either. Every time something happens and you go off to save the day, I’m stuck here worrying over whether or not you’ll come home alive, Mom.” Your voice cracked slightly. "I can’t do that anymore.“

Your mother’s face softened, and she got up and sat next to you, brushing your hair out of your face.

"I just–I want to do something besides sitting here with nothing but my mind,” you finished.

“I’m sorry, honey, I had no idea you felt this way,” she said. She hugged you. You clung to her, and for a moment felt like you were small again.

“Tell you what,” she continued. "How about we brainstorm on what you could do to help while staying safe?“

You sighed. Not exactly what you wanted, but if this would make you both feel better about the whole thing, a compromise like this would work for now.

"Alright,” you agreed. "But eventually we’ll have to talk about me actually joining you in a fight.“

"Baby steps, Y/N, baby steps.”


End file.
